Foldable habitation

ABSTRACT

The foldable habitation can be unfolded and deployed to satisfy dwelling needs, and can be folded into a compact configuration for displacement or storage, for example. The foldable habitation has a base with an elongated central floor portion, a frame secured to and vertically extending from the central floor portion, and a covering having a central roof portion mounted to the upper portion of the frame. The foldable habitation can be provided as a cottage unit which can be displaced from year to year, a movable motel unit, or an office unit which can be installed on a temporary construction site, to give three examples of the numerous possibilities.

BACKGROUND

A foldable habitation allowing an owner to fold the habitation from anunfolded state to a folded state, to move it to another location, or forstorage, is presented in published international patent application no.WO 02/066755. Such a foldable habitation can provide a cottage which canbe displaced from year to year or an office which can be installed on atemporary construction site, for example, to give two of the numerouspossibilities it offers. It can be folded into a compact folded statefor displacement and be unfolded and deployed to satisfy dwelling needs.

Although the foldable habitation discussed above has been foundsatisfactory on many aspects, there remained room for even furtherimprovements.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one aspect, there is provided a foldable habitationcomprising: a base having an elongated central floor portion with afront end and a rear end; a frame having a front portion secured to andvertically extending from the front end of the central floor portion, arear portion secured to and vertically extending from the rear end ofthe central floor portion, and an upper portion connecting the frontportion and the rear portion, the frame being capable of supporting theweight of the foldable habitation when the foldable habitation is liftedby the front portion and the rear portion of the frame; and a coveringhaving a central roof portion mounted to the upper portion of the frame.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a foldablehabitation comprising: a base having an elongated central floor portion,generally oriented in a longitudinal orientation, having a front end, arear end, and two opposite sides, the base also having two lateral floorportions, each lateral floor portion being hingedly mounted along arespective one of the opposite sides of the central floor portion; aframe having a front portion secured to and vertically extending fromthe front end of the central floor portion, a rear portion secured toand vertically extending from the rear end of the central floor portion,and an upper portion connecting the front portion and the rear portion;a covering having a central roof portion mounted to the upper portion ofthe frame and having two opposite sides, and two lateral roof portions,each lateral roof portion being hingedly mounted along a respective oneof the opposite sides of the central roof portion; two opposite lateralwalls, each lateral wall having a front end and a rear end and beingslidable in a transversal orientation along a corresponding one of thelateral floor portions; and a front wall and a rear wall, each having acentral wall portion mounted to a respective one of the front portionand the rear portion of the frame and having two opposite sides, and twofoldable lateral portions, each lateral portion being hingedly mountedbetween a respective one of the opposite sides of the central wallportion and a respective one of the front end and the rear end of arespective one of the two lateral walls, the lateral portions beingconfigured and adapted to unfold when the corresponding lateral wall isoutwardly slid.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a foldablehabitation having a foldable base including an elongated central floorportion having a front end and a rear end, a foldable covering includinga central roof portion, and deployable walls, the foldable habitationbeing characterized in that it further has a supporting frame having aplurality of interconnected steel beams, the frame having a frontportion secured to and vertically extending from the front end of thecentral floor portion, a rear portion secured to and verticallyextending from the rear end of the central floor portion, and an upperportion connecting the front portion to the rear portion of the frameand to which the central roof portion of the covering is mounted.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a method ofhandling a foldable habitation in a folded configuration, the methodcomprising: removably fastening a front leverage beam to an upper end ofa front portion of a steel frame of the foldable habitation; removablyfastening a rear leverage beam to an upper end of a rear portion of thesteel frame of the foldable habitation; and lifting the foldablehabitation using the fastened front and rear leverage beams.

In accordance with one aspect, there is provided a foldable habitationthat can be unfolded and deployed to satisfy dwelling needs, and thatcan be folded into a compact configuration for displacement or storage,for example. The foldable habitation has a base with an elongatedcentral floor portion, a frame secured to and vertically extending fromthe central floor portion, and a covering having a central roof portionmounted to the upper portion of the frame. The foldable habitation canbe provided as a cottage unit which can be displaced from year to year,a movable motel unit, or an office unit which can be installed on atemporary construction site, to give three examples of the numerouspossibilities.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Further features and advantages will become apparent from the followingdetailed description, taken in combination with the appended figures, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of an improved foldablehabitation in a folded state;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing unfolding of the lateralfloor portions;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing unfolding of the lateral roofportion on one side;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing unfolding of the walls on oneside;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1, with one side completely deployed,showing unfolding of a lateral roof portion on another side;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the improved foldable habitation of FIG.1 in an unfolded state;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 with the covering removed;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the frame of the foldable habitation ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4, showing the lateralwall sliding transversally;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view, fragmented, of the front or rear portionsof the frame of FIG. 8, with components removed, and with a leveragebeam fastened thereto;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the foldable habitation of FIG. 1adapted to be lifted by a crane.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows an example of an improved foldable habitation 10 in afolded state. In the folded state, the foldable habitation has anelongated appearance in an orientation referred to herein as thelongitudinal orientation, schematized by a longitudinal axis 11. Themain components of the foldable habitation 10 are substantiallysymmetrical along a median longitudinal plane. For the sake of clarity,a front end 12 and the rear end 14 of the foldable habitation aredefined, though it will be understood that a front door of the foldablehabitation can be provided in a wall referred to herein as a lateralwall or rear wall, for example. Due to the symmetricallity of thefoldable habitation 10, the front end 12 and the rear end 14 aresimilar. Only one side of the foldable habitation thus needs to bediscussed in detail. For simplicity, when two similar components arepresent on opposite sides of the foldable habitation 10, only one of thetwo similar components is referred to using a reference numeral.

The foldable habitation 10 includes a base 16 having an elongatedcentral floor portion 18 oriented in the longitudinal orientation 11,and two lateral floor portions 20. Each lateral floor portion 20 ishingedly mounted to pivot around a corresponding longitudinal side 30 ofthe central floor portion 18. The foldable habitation 10 also has acovering 24, the covering 24 includes a central roof portion 26 orientedin the longitudinal orientation 11, and two lateral roof portions 28.Similarly, the two lateral roof portions 28 are hingedly mounted alongtwo opposite sides of the central roof portion 26. The foldablehabitation 10 also has two opposite lateral walls 32. In the foldedstate, each lateral roof portion 28 is nested between a correspondinglateral floor portion 20 and a corresponding lateral wall 32. Thefoldable habitation also has a front wall 34 and a rear wall (notshown). The front wall 34 has a central wall portion 36 having twoopposite sides 38, and two folded lateral portions 40. Each one of thetwo folded lateral portions 40 is hingedly mounted between acorresponding opposite side 38 of the central wall portion 36 and acorresponding lateral wall 32. The rear wall (not shown) is similar tothe front wall 34.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 1 to 6 to show successive steps forunfolding the foldable habitation 10 from the folded state into anunfolded or deployed state. These steps can be carried out in thereverse order to fold the foldable habitation 10.

In FIG. 1 the foldable habitation 10 is in the folded state. In FIG. 2,the foldable habitation 10 is shown positioned onto height-adjustablebearing members, jacks 42 in this case, and the lateral floor portions20 are being unfolded by hingedly pivoting around the corresponding side30 of the central floor portion 18. In FIG. 3, the base 16 is deployed.A lateral roof portion 28 is being raised by hingedly pivoting along arespective side of the central roof portion 26. In FIG. 4, a lateralwall 32 is being slid transversally along a corresponding lateral floorportion 20, which results in unfolding a corresponding lateral portion40 of the front wall 34. The lateral portion 40 of the front wall 34includes two wall panels 44, 46, which are hingedly connected togetheralong their adjacent sides. The inner wall panel 44 has an inner sidehingedly connected to a corresponding side 38 of the central portion 36of the front wall 34, and the outer wall panel 46 has an outer sidehingedly connected to a front end of the lateral wall 32. A lateralportion of the rear wall (not shown) is similarly unfolded at the rearof the foldable habitation 10 as the lateral wall 32 is transversallyslid. In FIG. 5, one side of the foldable habitation 10 is shownunfolded, and the other side is being deployed by raising the lateralroof portion 28. The lateral wall of that other side, and thecorresponding lateral portions of the front and rear walls, will then bedeployed such as depicted in FIG. 4. In FIG. 6, the foldable habitationis shown in an unfolded state. A chimney 48 can also be present on thefront wall 34.

In FIG. 7, the foldable habitation 10 is shown with the covering 24removed. A steel beam frame 50 of the foldable habitation 10 is shown.Partitions 52, 54 were unfolded subsequently to deployment of thelateral walls 32. Cupboards were affixed to one partition 54,corresponding to a kitchen area. Furniture can then be added to thefoldable habitation as desired.

The example of a foldable habitation 10 described above and illustratedcorresponds to a cottage unit offering a panoramic view at the front dueto the presence of numerous large windows on the front wall. Inalternate embodiments, the configuration of the partitions, windows, anddoors, can greatly depart from those illustrated to adapt the foldablehabitation to other uses. An office unit where the partitions areremoved or minimized, and a motel unit longitudinally separated in twohalves and having two front doors, and two bathrooms, one accessiblefrom each half, are two of the numerous examples of other uses. Manyadditional configurations and uses are also possible.

For illustrative purposes, the illustrated model has 7.3 m (24 feet) inlength and 6.7 m (22 feet) in width when it is in the unfolded state.When it is folded, it can be folded down to 2.6 m (8 feet and 7 inches)in width, which is an advantageous width when exporting overseas becauseit allows shipping in standard size shipping containers. In alternateconfigurations, various other lengths and widths are also possible.

A factor which has been known to limit the practicable length ofpreviously known foldable habitations was the important longitudinaldeflection, caused by the weight of the components, which has been knownto occur when such folded habitations were lifted to be put onto atrailer or into a container, for example. This was a source of manyhandling difficulties, and in some cases, lifting required theinstallation of an outer frame for the folded habitation, like anexoskeleton, to provide a lifting structure to limit the longitudinaldeflection during lifting.

One element which is very advantageous in the illustrated example of animproved foldable habitation 10 is the incorporation of an internalframe 50. The incorporation of an internal frame allows to alleviatemany of the aforementioned handling difficulties known to somepreviously known foldable habitations by providing a longitudinaldeflection-resistant structure. This can advantageously help in limitingthe longitudinal deflection in the components of the foldablehabitation, thus easing the manipulation of foldable habitations andallowing to provide foldable habitations of increased length as comparedto what could previously be achieved. For example, using a frame ofsteel beams, it is now possible to produce and handle a foldablehabitation having 10.3 m (34 feet) in length, and potentially more.

FIG. 8 shows the steel frame 50 of the foldable habitation 10 shown anddescribed above. The steel frame 50 has an upper portion 52 to which thecentral roof portion 26 is mounted, and a front portion 54 and a rearportion 56 to which the central portions 36 of the front wall 34 and ofthe rear wall are mounted, respectively. The front portion 54 and therear portion 56 are secured to, and vertically extend, from the frontend and the rear end of the central floor portion 18, respectively. Theupper portion 52 of the frame 50 is assembled to the upper ends of thefront portion 54 and the rear portion 56 of the frame 50.

In this example, a front brace 58 and a rear brace 60 are provided aspart of the front portion 54 and the rear portion 56, respectively. Thebraces 56, 58 each have a fixed central portion 62 fastened along thecorresponding one of the front or rear end of the central floor portion18. For illustrative purposes, it will be understood that the centralfloor portion 18 and lateral floor portions 20 are constructed with aninternal structure, and the central floor portion 18, for example, canhave structural members extending along both transversally oppositesides 30. These side structural members are connected at opposite endsto the central portion 62 of the braces 56, 58. The use of fixed centralportions 62 of braces 56, 58 for securing the frame 50 to the centralfloor portion 18 advantageously allows to spread the retention forcesalong the width of the central floor portion 18 when the foldablehabitation 10 is lifted. In alternate configurations, the frame can beconnected to the floor differently.

The braces 56, 58 in this example, also include two lateral braceportions 64, each being hingedly connected to a corresponding end of thecentral brace portion 62. This particular configuration is optional, butadvantageously allows to provide the hinged connection between thelateral floor portions 20 and the central floor portion 18 as part ofthe frame 50. The use of braces 56, 58 can also contribute to addstructure to the lateral floor portions 20, which can be helpful inleveling the habitation 10.

Certain conventional wood structures have a tendency to deform with timedue to warping of the wood boards during temperature variations, oraging. A metal frame can advantageously overcome these limitations ofwood structures because they are more stable with time. Further,providing the metal frame internally allows to somewhat minimize theremaining deformation, or relative displacement, which can occur in thecomponents which are mounted to the frame.

In this example, the upper portion 52 of the frame 50 includes twolongitudinally oriented and transversally spaced-apart I-beams 66.I-beams advantageously provide an important amount of longitudinaldeflection resistance to the frame 50 and can advantageously bemanufactured in various lengths and sizes. It will be understood thatbeams having other cross-sectional shapes than I-beams, but alsooffering satisfactory longitudinal deflection characteristics canalternately be used. The particular size of I-beams for a particularfoldable habitation application can be calculated by persons of ordinaryskill in the art for a given overall weight, and weight distribution, ofa particular embodiment of a foldable habitation. The two parallelI-beams 66 are transversally interconnected by a plurality of struts 68.In the illustrated example, all the components of the frame 50 are madeof steel, although components of other metals can also be used. Inalternate embodiments, different configurations of can alternately beused for the upper frame portion 52.

In this example, the front portion 54 and the rear portion 56 of theframe 50 are similar, and both include two vertical beams 70, or studs,each one of the studs extending downwardly from a respective one of thetwo I-beams 66. Alternate configurations can also be used.

In this example, the frame 50 is further reinforced by an optionalintermediate portion 72 also having two vertical beams 74, or studs, anda transversal floor beam 76. The intermediate portion 72 serves tosuspend an intermediate portion of the central floor portion 18 to theupper portion 52 of the frame 50. This advantageously allows to reducelongitudinal deflection in the central floor portion 18. In alternateconfigurations, the intermediate portion 72 can be omitted, oradditional intermediate portions can be added, to adapt the frame todifferent lengths of foldable habitations, or to different weight anddeflection characteristics of the foldable habitation components, forexample.

Referring now to FIG. 9, to ease the transversal sliding of the lateralwalls 32 of the foldable habitation when folding or unfolding, thelateral walls 32 can be supported on wheels or rollers. In this example,a transversally oriented wheel 80 is provided at each longitudinal endof the lateral wall 32. The front brace 58, and more particularly thelateral brace portions 64 thereof, are provided with guiding tracks 82for the wheel 80. Guiding tracks are optional, but can advantageously beused to help maintaining the longitudinal alignment of the lateral wallsduring the transversal sliding displacement. The guiding tracks canadvantageously be provided on either one of the front end and the rearend of the lateral floor portions 20 rather than being provided on boththe front end and the rear end, because using two opposite guidingtracks can lead to blockage of the lateral wall 32 if obliqueness occursduring the transversal sliding displacement, such as if one end of thelateral wall 32 is moved faster than the opposite end. Providing guidingtracks made of metal is advantageous because it provides a hard surfaceon which the wheel 80 can be easily slid. This hard surface is durableand helps maintain the foldability of the habitation 10 over time. Inembodiments where lateral brace portions 64 are used, the guiding track82 can advantageously be provided as part of the frame 50. The guidingtracks 82 can thus be automatically aligned with the central floorportion 18. Further, providing the guiding track 82 as part of thelateral brace portion 64 offers deformation resistance over time.

In this example, the guiding track 82 has a vertically-extending maleportion 84 extending along the upper side of the lateral brace portion64, and the wheel 80 has a circumferential female groove 86 adapted toreceive the male portion 84 of the guiding track 82. The use of the maleportion in the guiding track rather than in the wheel is advantageousbecause the vertically-extending male portion contributes to impedeinfiltration of water from the outside.

FIG. 10 shows that the studs 70 of the front portion 54 or rear portion56 of the frame 50 can advantageously have threaded apertures 88 definedin an upper end portion thereof. The fastener-receiving apertures 88 canreceive fasteners used for securing a leverage beam 90 directly to theframe 50. The threaded apertures 88 thus act as fixation points, orlifting areas of the frame 50. The fasteners used to fasten the leveragebeams to the frame 50 collectively support the entire weight of thefoldable habitation 10 when it is lifted. The positioning of thethreaded apertures 88 close to the upper portion 52 of the frame 50 isadvantageous because it allows to distribute the lifting force to theupper portion 52 of the frame 50 with a relatively small moment of forcebetween the front portion 54 or rear portion 56 and the upper portion 52because of the relatively small distance, or lever arm, between thethreaded apertures 88 and the upper portion 52.

FIG. 11, shows an example of how the foldable habitation 10 can belifted. A front leverage beam 89 is secured to the front end 12 of thefoldable habitation 10, and more particularly to the frame 50 thereof,whereas a rear leverage beam 90 is secured to the rear end 14. The frontand rear leverage beams 89, 90 can advantageously be hooked upon atopposite ends thereof, to raise the entire foldable habitation 10 formanipulation and displacement. As discussed above, manipulating thefoldable habitation 10 in this manner is especially advantageous forexporting overseas, or when shipping by train, in which cases thefoldable habitation 10 can be raised and placed into a shippingcontainer. When shipping or moving by truck, the foldable habitation canalso be placed on a truck bed by jacking, for example.

As can be seen therefore, the examples described above and illustratedare intended to be exemplary only. The scope of the invention(s) isintended to be determined solely by the appended claims.

1. A foldable habitation comprising: a base having an elongated centralfloor portion with a front end and a rear end; a frame having a frontportion secured to and vertically extending from the front end of thecentral floor portion, a rear portion secured to and verticallyextending from the rear end of the central floor portion, and an upperportion connecting the front portion and the rear portion, the framebeing capable of supporting the weight of the foldable habitation whenthe foldable habitation is lifted by the front portion and the rearportion of the frame; and a covering having a central roof portionmounted to the upper portion of the frame.
 2. The foldable habitation ofclaim 1 wherein the upper portion of the frame includes two parallel,longitudinally-extending, interconnected, and spaced-apart steelI-beams.
 3. The foldable habitation of claim 2 wherein the front andrear portions of the frame each include two parallel steel studs, eachstud being connected to a corresponding end of a corresponding I-beams.4. The foldable habitation of claim 3 wherein each one of the four steelstuds has a plurality of fastener-receiving threads in an upper endthereof, the fastener-receiving threads being configured and adapted toreceive fasteners capable of collectively supporting the weight of thefoldable habitation.
 5. The foldable habitation of claim 1 characterizedin that the frame has front lifting area in an upper end of the frontportion and a rear lifting area in an upper end of the rear portion, theframe being capable of supporting the foldable habitation with limitedlongitudinal deflection when the foldable habitation is lifted by thefront and rear lifting areas.
 6. The foldable habitation of claim 1wherein the base further has two lateral floor portions, each floorportion being hingedly mounted to pivot along on a respective side ofthe central floor portion, and the frame further has a front bracemember and a rear brace member, each brace member having a central bracebeam embracing a respective end of the central floor portion and havingtwo opposite transversal ends, and two lateral brace beams, eachembracing a corresponding end of a corresponding one of the two lateralfloor portions and hingedly connected to a corresponding end of thecentral brace beam.
 7. The foldable habitation of claim 1 wherein thebase further has two lateral floor portions, each floor portion beinghingedly mounted to pivot along on a respective side of the centralfloor portion, and the deployable walls have two longitudinally-orientedlateral walls, each lateral wall being wheel mounted and transversallyslidable along a respective one of the lateral floor portions on a frontwheel slidable along a front end of the corresponding lateral floorportion and on a rear wheel slidable along a rear end of thecorresponding lateral floor portion, one of the front end and the rearend of the corresponding lateral floor portion having a wheel-guidingtrack.
 8. The foldable habitation of claim 7 wherein the twowheel-guiding tracks are provided on a hinged portion of a brace beamconnected to the frame.
 9. The foldable habitation of claim 7 whereinthe two wheel-guiding tracks have a vertically-extending male portionand the corresponding wheels have a mating female recess groove definedcircumferentially therein.
 10. The foldable habitation of claim 1wherein the frame further has an intermediate frame portioninterconnecting the upper portion of the frame to the central floorportion in a manner that a portion of the weight of the base issuspended from the upper portion of the frame when the foldablehabitation is lifted by its frame.
 11. A foldable habitation comprising:a base having an elongated central floor portion, generally oriented ina longitudinal orientation, having a front end, a rear end, and twoopposite sides, the base also having two lateral floor portions, eachlateral floor portion being hingedly mounted along a respective one ofthe opposite sides of the central floor portion; a frame having a frontportion secured to and vertically extending from the front end of thecentral floor portion, a rear portion secured to and verticallyextending from the rear end of the central floor portion, and an upperportion connecting the front portion and the rear portion; a coveringhaving a central roof portion mounted to the upper portion of the frameand having two opposite sides, and two lateral roof portions, eachlateral roof portion being hingedly mounted along a respective one ofthe opposite sides of the central roof portion; two opposite lateralwalls, each lateral wall having a front end and a rear end and beingslidable in a transversal orientation along a corresponding one of thelateral floor portions; and a front wall and a rear wall, each having acentral wall portion mounted to a respective one of the front portionand the rear portion of the frame and having two opposite sides, and twofoldable lateral portions, each lateral portion being hingedly mountedbetween a respective one of the opposite sides of the central wallportion and a respective one of the front end and the rear end of arespective one of the two lateral walls, the lateral portions beingconfigured and adapted to unfold when the corresponding lateral wall isoutwardly slid.
 12. The foldable habitation of claim 11 wherein theframe includes a plurality of interconnected steel beams.
 13. Thefoldable habitation of claim 11 wherein the upper portion of the frameincludes two longitudinally-oriented, parallel, steel I-beamsinterconnected by a plurality of struts.
 14. The foldable habitation ofclaim 13 wherein both the front and the rear portions of the frameinclude two vertically-oriented and parallel steel stud beams, eachsteel stud being connected to a respective end of a respective one ofthe I beams.
 15. The foldable habitation of claim 11 wherein the frontportion and the rear portion of the frame each have a respectivetransversally-extending brace beam connected to a lower end thereof, andby which the front portion and the rear portion of the frame are securedto the opposite ends of the central floor portion.
 16. The foldablehabitation of claim 15 wherein both transversally-extending brace beamseach have a central portion connected to the central portion of thefloor, and two opposite lateral portions each hingedly connected toopposite ends of the central portion and each connected to a respectivelateral portion of the floor.
 17. The foldable habitation of claim 16wherein the hinged connection between the lateral portions of the bracebeams and the central portion thereof provide the hinged connectionbetween the lateral portions of the floor and the central portion of thefloor.
 18. The foldable habitation of claim 11 wherein each one of thelateral walls has a transversally oriented wheel at a front end thereofand at a rear end thereof.
 19. The foldable habitation of claim 18wherein each one of the lateral floor portions has a guiding track forreceiving a corresponding wheel, the guiding track extendingtransversally along one of the rear end and the front end of thecorresponding lateral floor portion.
 20. The foldable habitation ofclaim 19 wherein each guiding track has a vertically extending maleportion, and each corresponding wheel has a recessed circumferentialfemale groove.
 21. The foldable habitation of claim 20 wherein theguiding tracks are provided as part of a brace beam connected to therespective end of the corresponding lateral floor portion.
 22. Thefoldable habitation of claim 11 wherein both the front and rear portionsof the frame have leverage beam fastener receiving threads in an upperend thereof.
 23. The foldable habitation of claim 11 wherein an upperend portion of both the front portion and the rear portion of the frameinclude respective opposite fixation points capable of supporting theentire weight of the foldable habitation.
 24. The foldable habitation ofclaim 23 wherein the fixation points include fastener receiving threadsadapted to receive fasteners capable of jointly supporting at least theweight of the foldable habitation.
 25. The foldable habitation of claim23 wherein the upper portion of the frame is configured and adapted topresent an amount of longitudinal deflection below a predeterminedthreshold value when the foldable habitation is lifted by the fixationpoints.
 26. The foldable habitation of claim 11 further comprising anintermediate frame portion interconnecting the upper portion of theframe to the central floor portion in a manner that a portion of theweight of the base is suspended from the upper portion of the frame whenthe foldable habitation is lifted by its frame.
 27. A method of handlinga foldable habitation in a folded configuration, the method comprising:removably fastening a front leverage beam to an upper end of a frontportion of a steel frame of the foldable habitation; removably fasteninga rear leverage beam to an upper end of a rear portion of the steelframe of the foldable habitation; and lifting the foldable habitationusing the fastened front and rear leverage beams.